


When Skull is Perfect

by Jumpyrope



Category: Persona 5
Genre: M/M, Masturbation, No Sex, Sex Pollen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-07 05:18:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17954315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jumpyrope/pseuds/Jumpyrope
Summary: Kaneshiro's palace is trap heavy, but it didn't havethisin game. Basically this is an excuse to mess with Yusuke.





	When Skull is Perfect

**Author's Note:**

> ughgh should stop posting fics from my phone, it won't let me enter tags that don't already exist. But doing this on my computer would be Uncomfortable.  
> So I deal with it.  
> This has been sitting for probably a year now, I've written a teensy bit at a time, hated it, fixed it up, hated it, and so on. Finally I'm gonna just say it's good enough and that's a day. Enjoy.

Kaneshiro's palace is the most trap-heavy place that the Phantom Thieves have come across yet. Of course they only have Kamoshida and Madarame's palaces to go off of, but these traps are far greater than both of those palaces combined. Security cameras, invisible lasers, the works. The Thieves had thought they've seen everything the crime lord had to offer, but they were shamefully wrong. 

Nobody saw the trap until it was set off, a thick pink gas that spewed forth from a vent in the wall. Yusuke was standing closest to the vent and took the brunt of it. The rest of them thankfully didn't get anything more than a slight whiff, but even that was enough for the sweet smelling gas to stick in their noses and heat up their insides. 

"Fox! Are you okay?!" Ann worriedly gasps out as Yusuke coughs on the fumes. With the way Ryuji's throat felt so hot, he could only imagine how the pain would be for the poor artist. 

"I'm not getting any especially weird readings from him, but he did breathe a lot of that stuff in!" Morgana announces, hopping around Yusuke worriedly. "Do you need water or something? Joker, we brought water, right?" Akira pulls out a vending machine drink, looking at it curiously and wondering if it would really be helpful. 

"N-no need to worry, I will be okay. It merely caught me by surprise. I will accept a drink, of course." Yusuke breathes deeply into the air away from the vent, closing his eyes. He quickly chugs the whole drink after Akira hands it to him. "Thank you." Akira simply nods in response before silently gesturing for everyone to continue. 

Ryuji keeps a particular eye out for any vents similar to the last one, but finds none. They continue on for a while, fighting like normal. However, Yusuke does seem to be more out of breath than usual after battle. His condition just seems to worsen as they continue. Now everyone on the team is keeping a careful eye on him. Ryuji notices that the pale boy is looking much more flushed than usual. 

"Leader, may I speak with you for a moment?" Yusuke speaks up to Akira as they check the area and find it lacking in shadows in the immediate vicinity. Akira turns around and nods, concern etched across his face. The two separate a little from the group and speak in hushed tones. Ryuji knows eavesdropping would be rude, but he can't help but watch them even if he can't hear them. As always, their leader is collected and calm. Yusuke, however, is anything but. He fidgets and avoids eye contact with Akira, which is rather unlike him. Usually the artist keeps such intense eye contact that it would make anyone uncomfortable. It is strange seeing Yusuke looking like the uncomfortable person. 

Then, Akira looks concerned. Seeing him concerned makes Ryuji concerned, and he's sure if any of the others were paying attention, they'd be concerned by it too. Akira surely knows this, so he takes on a calmer expression before turning around and rejoining the group. 

"That gas did something after all. I don't want to risk it, so Fox is going to go back to the safe room." Akira explains to everyone. Yusuke looks down at the floor like a child being sent to time-out. "And I don't want to leave him alone in case something gets worse. So, Skull, you go with him and keep an eye out." 

Ryuji blanches, jaw dropping.  
"Why me?!" He whines, and for once Morgana agrees with him. 

"Yes, why him? Wouldn't I be better equipped to keep watch?" Morgana tilts his head and frowns. It seems Joker has already thought this out, a reply at the ready. 

"I need you with me; you're our healer. I need Queen too, her skills are too useful to not have her on the team." Akira glances at Makoto, who flushes a little from the compliment. 

"What about Panther?" Ryuji points out. "She doesn't seem to have anything important to do." Ryuji was expecting Ann to yell at him, what he wasn't expecting was for Yusuke to yell out. 

" _Not_ Panther!" He looks panicked, wide eyes pleading with the group. Whatever snark Ann had prepared to throw at Ryuji was completely forgotten as she looks stunned by the outburst. 

"Why not?" Makoto asks, being the only one who recovered from the sudden shout fastest. Yusuke shakes his head vehemently and then turns his pleading look at Akira. 

"Just trust me on this, okay? It is truly best if Skull goes." Akira explains gently. 

"Joker, you're really worrying me." Morgana says cautiously. "This is _Skull_ we are talking about. What can he do to help should things go wrong?" 

"He's strong and would be able to carry Fox should he need to be removed. He is also fast and loud and would be able to call us back quickly. Furthermore he is tough as concrete, I'm sure he would be the best to be on his own and to guard Fox." Akira explains and Yusuke nods slowly, eyes to the floor again. Ryuji feels a little flustered by all those nice qualities, but that floaty feeling of receiving a real compliment was dashed by Akira adding,  
"Don't let that get to your head, Skull." 

The team does not argue further as Yusuke groans and curls in on himself. They quickly part ways after that, leaving Ryuji to walk back to the last safe room with Yusuke. The artist moves slowly, his whole body stiff and uncomfortable. Ryuji slows to a stop even though the room is only a couple more turns through the empty hall. 

"Hey, you need me to carry you? We can get back faster and you can rest more." Ryuji personally thinks this is a great idea. Yusuke looks mildly horrified by the thought. 

"No, thank you. I am able to walk." 

"Yeah, but you don't _need_ to walk." 

"Can we just keep moving?" Yusuke snaps and makes a point to walk faster. Ryuji doesn't talk for the rest of the way to the safe room, half pissed off and half concerned about his teammate. As soon as they open the wavering door and step into the room, Yusuke makes a beeline for the couch off to the left and sits down. Breathing out a relieved sigh, he takes off his mask and sets it on the seat next to him. Ryuji frowns as Yusuke takes his gloves off to wipe the sweat off his forehead. 

"Geez, dude, you okay? You look like shit." Ryuji leaned closer to ascertain that yes, Yusuke does look unnaturally flushed. The glare that Ryuji receives is far weaker than usual as well, and the eye contact is quickly diverted again as Yusuke tilts his face down to let his hair block his face from view. 

"I am fine. I believe I just need rest." The artist mumbles before shuffling around to lay down, facing away. Ryuji shuffles in place uncomfortably, looking around the room that felt somehow too crowded and too quiet at the same time. 

"Do you uh, need anything else? I could do. Something?" Ryuji cringes at his own awkwardness. This is nothing like he is used to. He's handled sick and injured teammates, took care of his mom when she would get migraines or exhaust herself with work, but he has no idea what to do for Yusuke. Yusuke is sick, yeah, and he is a teammate, yeah, but it's different. It's completely out of his comfort zone. Maybe it is his residual unease about the artist from when they first met that makes him feel awkward. Maybe it's because this is technically the first time they've been in a room together completely alone. Maybe it's whatever he was sick with. There are too many possibilities. 

"I don't need anything at the moment. Just... stay away from me." Yusuke's harsh demand has Ryuji glaring at the back of his head. 

"Hey, you don't haveta say it like that! Who walked with your slow ass all the way back here to babysit you until the others come back? Sheesh! I'll give you your space, just don't go bein' all hostile about it." Ryuji crosses his arms and glares disapprovingly down at Yusuke's curled up form on the couch. The sick boy curls in on himself more and mutters an apology. Ryuji can barely hear the guy with his face hidden away, but he gets the gist. With a sigh, Ryuji pulls a chair from the nearby table and takes a seat. Yusuke seems to relax after a few moments when he realizes that Ryuji wouldn't keep arguing with him. 

Ryuji knows that he was supposed to be keeping a close eye on Yusuke to see if there is anything extra weird going on. Yet here he is, leaning back in his chair with closed eyes. He sees it as fine so long as he doesn't fall asleep. He keeps an ear out for any noises that were unusual despite listening to Yusuke's heavy breathing being the most boring thing to do ever. 

A small whine catches Ryuji's attention. He looks over at his ailed friend, who had moved to lay prone and stretched across the couch. He frowns and feels a pang of pity for the poor guy. Yusuke keeps squirming around as he tries to find a comfortable way to lay. Ryuji opens his mouth to ask if he could do anything to help, but shuts it slowly as he remembers that Yusuke wanted to be left alone. So, he instead turns to look around at the rest of the room. 

Time passes by, and it couldn't have been more than a couple minutes, but Ryuji was getting restless. Absolutely nothing of interest was happening. Though it seems Yusuke is having difficulties in trying to rest, everything is pretty normal. The only sounds were small groans of pain that Ryuji wished his teammate would stop making. His wish is far from granted. A moan that almost sounds pleased graces Ryuji's ears. He figures he could ignore it despite it being much louder than the other soft noises Yusuke was making. Then there is another moan that is unmistakably one of pleasure and Ryuji turns to look at his friend with wide eyes. 

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what is going on. Still laying face down on the couch, Yusuke is rocking just his hips down against the seat in careful rolling motions. Ryuji tries to convince himself that it's not what he's thinking, but then Yusuke moans again and starts grinding a little faster. There is a neediness in the tone that made Ryuji's face feel extremely hot. He thinks about maybe just ignoring what is obviously going on, but he sees Yusuke's thin hand grip hard onto the seat cushion as another moan escapes his hidden face. 

"D-dude! Are you-?" Ryuji can't even finish asking; the idea of saying _"humping the couch"_ was just too much. Yusuke knows what he's trying to say though, and with a pitifully desperate voice, apologizes. 

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, this is so shameful but I-" he gasps and Ryuji feels a little lightheaded "-have no control. I _need_ this. I can't stop." Yusuke's apology is harder to really think about when it's said so breathily like it is. Hearing Yusuke gasp and moan was doing things to Ryuji that had no business being done to him. The feelings being sent to settle in his gut and fuzzy up his head only intensify when Yusuke turns to look at his teammate. 

His face is red and his eyebrows drawn together in a pleading expression. The look in Yusuke's eyes is clouded, and his hips keep moving steadily down to provide himself with some sort of relief. Ryuji can see the embarrassment being slowly overwritten by arousal and it makes his cock twitch when Yusuke bites his lip on a needy groan and closes his eyes. 

"I-I've tried to control myself, tried to keep myself presentable. It's too strong, too powerful- I've never felt a need this powerful before!" Yusuke whines before quickly flipping himself over to lay on his back. The clearly horny artist keeps his eyes squeezed shut as he starts to undress himself out of his thief outfit. Ryuji watches with wide eyes, unable to look away from the hand pulling down the zipper of his top and the chest being slowly exposed underneath. By the time he has his pants down to his knees, Yusuke wastes no time to grab himself out of his boxers and start stroking his straining erection with a satisfied moan. Apologies spill from his lips as he bucks into his hand and swipes the pre-cum gathering at the tip of his cock down with his thumb. The way he bites his bottom lip and groans is enough to get Ryuji fully hard from just watching. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, too good, mn, I'm sorry-" Yusuke moans repeatedly as he jerks himself off. Ryuji feels like he should leave the room, or at least look away, but he can't even move his mouth to speak. "Ahh- ahhhn- I'm sorry, I can't- ohh this feels heavenly!" Yusuke continues to moan loudly. It isn't just because it is a quiet room, it's that Yusuke is really not holding anything back. Ryuji watches as his teammate arches his back off the couch and decides that enough is enough. He's seen far more of Yusuke than he has ever wanted to see. He finds the willpower to get up and walk to the opposite side of the room, keeping his back to the tantalizingly lewd scene behind him. If he could just shut it out, it would be over eventually and he could block it from his memory forever. However, this is easier said than done since Yusuke has apparently decided to be as noisy as possible. 

"Mmn, hhaaa... how can this be? I've never felt such unbridled arousal before, I-" He breaks off into a long, deep sigh. Ryuji contemplates banging his own head against the wall. "This sensation inside of me is consuming me... I feel as if I'm going to burst!" 

"Dammit, Yusuke can you _please_ stop talking? You sound like a cheap porn star." Ryuji can't help himself, he has to say something to shut Yusuke up. Ryuji's hands twitch at his side with the urge to touch himself, but he is determined he is not going to get off listening to his friend masturbating loudly behind him. 

"I'm sorry, I cannot help myself- ah, Ryuji- I- ohh, you look so exquisite-" Yusuke gasps loudly and pants for breath for a moment. 

_Wait, what was that?_ Ryuji thinks. _Exquisite?!_ Against his better judgement, if he ever had any, he turns around and is met with a sight that sears itself into his eyes. Yusuke is now completely undressed and sprawled across the couch, hiding absolutely nothing. He looks at Ryuji with uninhibited want, which the blond can say he is not very used to seeing. It takes the words out of his throat and the air from his lungs. He can barely make a noise. Yusuke bites his lip and keeps staring, and Ryuji's cock gives traitorous twitch when the horny artist glances down obviously at it. Skull's Phantom Thief outfit hides nothing, and Ryuji condemns it. 

The blond removes his skull mask and breathes heavily, knowing that his face is redder than Joker's gloves and frankly not giving a damn. It gets Yusuke's attention off his dick at least, though Ryuji isn't sure if that's better with the way his friend meets his eyes with another needy whine. 

"I have this effect on you?" Yusuke breathes out in pleased bewilderment. Ryuji feels himself nodding. The artist's voice drops into a deeper tone. "Do you want me?" Grinding his teeth together and clenching his fists tightly at his sides, Ryuji closes his eyes and nods again. Yusuke releases another moan. "Please, my body longs for the touch of another. I _need_ you." 

"Fuck..." Ryuji mutters, shaking his head in disbelief. This seriously could not be happening, what the hell is even going on?! He's never seen Yusuke act anything other than annoyingly poised, so where the hell is this needy, horny Yusuke coming from? Was he just waiting for a chance to get Ryuji alone? Had he been secretly pining after the blond all this time? 

No, that isn't the slightest bit possible. That isn't just Ryuji's low self confidence talking either, there's just simply no _way_ someone like Yusuke could want someone like him this badly. So why? Where is this behavior coming from? 

When it clicks, Ryuji feels the like dumbest idiot in the world for not figuring it out sooner. The signs were all there; Yusuke got hit with that weird cloud of gas or whatever. Yusuke started acting strange. Yusuke told Akira something that made him antsy, and Akira told the team that Yusuke needed to go to the safe room. Yusuke adamantly refused Ann's offer to help with a horrified expression. On the way to the room, Yusuke kept a fair distance between himself and Ryuji. In the safe room, Yusuke snapped at Ryuji to leave him alone and stay away from him. Then Yusuke started- and then he- 

Oh, _fuck_ , it's sex pollen. Ryuji thinks he's seen enough hentai to know that for sure. It's just- that shit isn't real, it's just a cheap "plot" device people use to give their characters an excuse to fuck. 

From the other side of the room, Yusuke whines and pulls Ryuji back from his revelation. Clearly, this plot device has wormed it's dirty way into his life somehow. His eyes fly open again to look at his friend in a new light, though he isn't sure what that light is. With one free hand Yusuke reaches towards the blond, and the other is sliding lower between his legs, further, further down... 

"God, dammit!" Ryuji slams his hands over his eyes so quickly that it hurts. He digs the heels of his palms into the sockets trying to pull himself together and get the image of Yusuke starting to finger himself out of his mind. That turns out to be an incredibly difficult task, especially when the guy is very clearly still touching himself and making as much noise as seemingly possible. With one last burst of will power, Ryuji stumbles his way across the room with his eyes shut, bumping into the table in the center of the room before hitting the wall and searching for the door. He ignores Yusuke's confused hum and focuses on opening the door and getting out. He manages to get a hold of the handle and within moments, the door is slamming behind him and silencing the desperate pleas of his teammate.

Slowly, Ryuji opens his eyes and looks around the empty hallway. He hopes to god that the others don't come back right now. He can not think of a reason to refuse them entry into the room in the state he's in. That's all he needs, the team to catch him with a raging boner trying to stutter some excuse on why they can't go into the safe room. The mortifying thought of getting caught is sobering, at least. Not enough to do anything to his aforementioned boner, but it is at least enough to clear his head a bit. 

After a minute of leaning against the door, Ryuji decides to move and sit against the wall next to it. His dick continues to demand attention, and it's almost strong enough to make him wonder if coming out here was the best idea. That would be the absolute _worst_ case scenario; the team returns to see him jerking off in the hallway while Yusuke does the same in the safe room. Maybe it would have been better to just... join the other in the room. He did seem pretty needy after all, and what's a good teammate's job if not to attend to his friend's needs? Ryuji's dick seems to agree, but his brain for once rules over it.

He forces himself to remember how uncomfortable Yusuke looked at the beginning, how adamant he was about keeping people away from him. Just because some porn gas made him sex crazy doesn't mean he really wants it. Ryuji for one was a little iffy on his first time being with a guy he's not super close to, anyway. It's not that he's against guys, because obviously he likes the idea, but he just hasn't spent enough time with Yusuke to do that kind of thing yet. Maybe if it were Akira, he'd be more willing... not that Ryuji even likes him like that, it's just that he's comfortable enough with himself to admit that his best friend happens to be super hot. Yusuke is attractive too, yeah. Shit, he's _really_ attractive. It's just that he's not exactly one of Ryuji's closest friends. Well, he is, but that's more because of lack of friends than actual closeness. Maybe they should hang out more, now that he thinks of it. Or maybe not, considering how painfully awkward this whole situation has been. Maybe Yusuke will never want to see him again. Maybe Ryuji won't ever be able to see Yusuke the same way again. 

Ryuji glances at the door. The walls are thankfully soundproof it seems. He isn't sure what he would do if he could still hear moaning through the wall. Even without the noise, his traitorous imagination supplies him with a view of the scene going on just the other side of the wall. He's never really thought about anal before, but after seeing Yusuke's spit slicked finger start circling his entrance, he'll be damned if he isn't thinking about it now. It's not fair! Assholes aren't supposed to look sexy, dammit! It's not even like it's an impossibly perfect asshole, either! It's nothing like any porn actress Ryuji's ever seen. Those girls are always so smooth and hairless all over, like a Barbie doll with genitals. Yusuke isn't a porn actress. He's just. Yusuke. He isn't spotlessly shaven, he's sweaty from running around the Metaverse, his limbs are all long and gangly, his ribs show a bit through the skin on his chest, and his dick isn't perfect. So how come he still seems so irresistible?! 

But thinking about his dick gets Ryuji _really_ thinking about his dick. It wasn't perfect, but from what Ryuji saw, it was pretty close. Not as big as the guys in porn, but still pretty large. Regrettably, it's probably bigger than Ryuji's own. Definitely longer, at least. Probably. 

Ryuji grabs his head and shakes it with a groan. He has to stop thinking about these things, dammit! He should just sit here and wait for the team to get back or for Yusuke to uh, finish. Just calmly sit and wait and not think about sex or Yusuke finishing and god dammit now he's wondering what Yusuke looks like when he cums. Ryuji smacks himself in the face to hopefully snap himself out of it, but it doesn't do much at all. His stupid idiot cock even seemed to _like_ it. Fuck. 

Well, one thing he does discover from slapping himself is that his mask reappeared on his face when he left the safe room, so technically he _could_ try to beat up a shadow to blow off steam, but the thought of the team coming back to find him knocked out or worse with his dick still hard is honestly terrifying. It's actually awful enough imagining their disappointment in him that it kills his boner a bit. 

The door next to Ryuji slowly opens inch by inch until Yusuke can peek through the gap. Even as he looks through the gap, however, he avoids eye contact with Ryuji. 

"Um. It is... safe for you to come inside now." He mutters. Ryuji nods and starts to stand up as Yusuke retreats and closes the door. He doesn't want to think ill of his friend, but Ryuji is a little concerned about how Yusuke said _safe_. Was he unsafe before? If he had stayed in the room, what would Yusuke have done? If he had gone back inside earlier, would he be threatened somehow? Ryuji shakes his head and goes inside.

Yusuke is once again seated on the couch, only now he sits stiffly and properly with his legs close together and hands folded in his lap. His clothes are back on, if not a little rumpled, and zipped up far past where he usually keeps it. His hair looks like he tried to comb through it, but it just wasn't enough. His face is still flushed and he keeps his gaze firmly fixed on the floor even as Ryuji carefully walks past him to take the chair he was in earlier. He looks so much like a little kid getting scolded that it's almost funny, considering what he was doing in that same spot before.

Ryuji isn't sure what to say. It's clear that Yusuke doesn't know either. He stares blankly at the floor like it were one of his paintings. It's kind of concerning, actually, to see that intense gaze pointed at absolutely nothing. He couldn't really find the floor that interesting, right? Ryuji doesn't get a chance to think on it more or to ask as Yusuke clears his throat hesitantly before speaking. 

"I... I am deeply apologetic for my behavior." He talks to the floor. As far as formal apologies go, it isn't great, but Ryuji understands why the artist wouldn't want to deliver this apology eye to eye. 

"Hey, it's fine. Don't sweat it." Ryuji feigns nonchalance, waving his hand dismissively. After another long moment of silence, Ryuji forces himself to speak.  
"So, uh, how are you feeling?" he asks. Honestly, he isn't sure if he wants to know. He is concerned for his friend though, which is why he asked. Yusuke hesitates again before relaxing his shoulders somewhat. 

"I- Yes. I feel much better, though a little tired." He admits. 

"Well yeah, I guess you would be." Ryuji comments, unable to keep a smirk off his face as he thinks of a way to (hopefully) lighten the mood. "You did just do a _lot_ of physical activity." 

Silence. It lasts long enough to make Ryuji regret his words. Yusuke raises his head slowly and strikes fear into the blond's heart.The artist doesn't look pissed, though. If anything, he looks baffled. 

"Are you... teasing me?" He speaks slowly like he was carefully considering every word. 

"Ahahah, yeah, sorry..." Ryuji rubs the back of his neck and rolls his head back and forth to stretch a bit. Really, it was to keep his eyes off of Yusuke without looking obvious. "I thought it might, uh, lighten the mood? I mean, jokes are a good way to get through something, right?" Ryuji totally feels like he's just pulling this out of his ass. Yusuke seems to be thinking about it, though. 

"I suppose that is true," he says, "but not everything can be solved with a smile." He shakes his head sadly. "I'm sorry. For _all_ of my behavior. If you never want to see me again after this, I understand." 

Ryuji blanks for a second. He thought this might happen, but not quite like this. He imagined Yusuke wanting to avoid him because Ryuji reminds him of this whole thing, or that Yusuke would avoid him out of disgust. If he regrets what happened in this room, it's likely he'll associate Ryuji with that negativity and start to resent him. Ryuji didn't think that Yusuke would be the one to worry about being avoided. 

"Hey, I said it's fine, man. I'm not gonna like, hate you or anything now. Sure, this was super awkward and uncomfortable, and we'll probably feel that for a while, but I don't want to let it get in the way of Phantom Thieving, y'know?" Ryuji wants to say that he doesn't want this to get in the way of their friendship either, but it felt just a little too personal. His words have an effect nonetheless. 

"You- you are right. I will be able to move past this discomfort and view you as a teammate again. We do not have to have any contact outside of the Thieves either, if you don't want to see me. I understand completely that this experience has influenced your opinion of me negatively, and I-" Ryuji cuts Yusuke off right there before he can say anything further. 

"Wait wait wait, hold on. I don't think negatively of you, dude. Things're just weird for now, but I don't think any less of you." 

"Oh." Yusuke pauses for a moment, expressionless but deep in thought. He then looks up at Ryuji again curiously. "You don't?" 

"No, 'fcourse not. I didn't get mad at you when you got hit with that status effect in battle that made you try and slice me in half, and I'm not mad now." 

"You were not mad, then? You seemed to be very... vocal at the time. With how you raised your voice, you looked clearly upset by my actions." Yusuke, of course, has to ruin Ryuji's perfectly good argument and reasoning. The blond sighs, trying to figure out how to explain himself in a way that makes sense. 

"Ugh, yeah, that's the thing. I was pissed off at what you did, not at you, man." Yusuke looks even more confused. "Like, you weren't in control of yourself. It's not like you really wanted to kill me, it was just cuz of the effect. And nothing bad happened either. I mean, we got set back in the battle pretty roughly, but we still won in the end, so-" 

"It didn't feel like I was not in control, this time." Yusuke seems hesitant to say this as he looks to the floor. It stops Ryuji right where he is. 

"What do you mean, like, you mean you were doing all that, uh, stuff on your own free will?" That doesn't make sense, since Yusuke had never acted like that before. It was certainly caused by something else. 

"When inflicted with rage, it felt like I was trapped in my own body. I was unable to do anything about my actions. Today, however..." he takes a deep breath and releases it in a sigh. "I was in control of my body. I was able to make choices, and I chose to give into desire." He frowns, a mixture of disgust and disappoinment. "My actions are inexcusable. If I cannot resist temptation, then am I doomed to become like the palace rulers we target? Will I one day lose myself to distorted desires?" 

Ryuji doesn't know what to say right away, so he just listens and frowns. He never thought that this would have been so hard on the artist, but in hindsight it's almost obvious that a situation like this would upset him. Yusuke is someone who cares about his image, no matter how weird he acts in public. He has accepted his excentricities, but something like this is entirely unnatural for him. In any case, though, Yusuke is clearly upset and only feeling worse by the second. 

"Hey, don't say that. You're nothing like those rotten adults. And you have your persona, so you can't have a palace. Your desires aren't distorted." 

"But I was-" 

"Drugged. You were under the control of some heavy shit, man. You may think that you had a choice, but you didn't. That stuff made you want to give in and, uh, you know. Want sex. You never would have acted like that if you weren't being controlled by sex mist, right?" 

"I suppose that is a good point. It was difficult for me to think of anything other than sex at the time, nearly impossible. My mind is never so easily taken over by anything other than my art. Whenever I would have those indecent thoughts in the past, I was always able to counter them and ignore it." 

"Yeah! There you go, see? None of that was your fault. Don't worry about it. I was the only one who saw anything, and I won't ever tell anyone about this, promise."

"Truly? Thank you, Skull. I am glad to have chosen you to come with me." Yusuke has this small smile that is usually reserved for pretty things, and paired with the words, it makes Ryuji's heart clog his throat as it leaps up from his chest. 

"You wanted me to come with you?" Ryuji asks, trying not to choke on his own breath. 

"Of course I requested you specifically. You were simply the most qualified for what I needed. I would have chosen Joker if he were not so vital to the team. I could never ask Panther or Queen to help me while I was inebriated; I could not let my mindset sully my view of them. Mona, too, I could not allow myself to taint the purity of the creature with my disgusting lewd imagination. You, however, are perfect. I needn't worry about corrupting you, as you are already so vulgar on your own. There is no purity for me to destroy. I did not expect you to be so understanding of this situation, but you are. Truly, you are perfect." 

"Uh, thanks? I feel like you insulted me in there but you also called me perfect so I'm not sure which one to focus on." Ryuji laughs lightly and rubs the back of his neck bashfully. Yusuke chuckles softly as well, looking fondly at his teammate. 

"I'm glad you truly do not think ill of me for this. I would never have forgiven myself had I damaged our relationship. I am thankful too that you did not give in to my, um, requests." His face flushes and he turns away a little, shuffling his feet on the floor. 

"Yeah, me too. But, hah, shit, you didn't make it easy to say no to you, you know what I mean? Man, I'll be honest, I was _this_ close to coming over there. Thank God for the door being between us, cuz if I was over in your side of the room, I don't know if I would have been able to leave." Ryuji laughs a little, not really thinking about his words. His stomach drops in dread when he sees Yusuke's eyes widen in a dawning horror. 

"This truly is a dangerous substance! If I had succeeded in coercing you into sex, I would never be able to forgive myself for it. I couldn't bear taking advantage of you like that." Yusuke says seriously. Ryuji, meanwhile, is baffled. 

"Wait what?! _You_ take advantage of _me_? If anything, I'd have been taking advantage of you! You were out of your mind, dude, that's like tryna have sex with a drunk person, or someone who can barely stay awake. That's a real fuckin' scummy thing to do!" Ryuji's head starts hurting a bit more, so he takes his mask off again to massage his forehead and temples. 

"It is different from being unconscious, I was actively pursuing you and trying to convince you to come sleep with me. For all intents and purposes, I gave enthusiastic consent. You should not be blamed, instead I would be the one at fault for forcing you into it." Yusuke looks down, his messy hair falling to cover his face. Ryuji doesn't like seeing him look so depressed and ashamed for something that wasn't his fault, but what could he do about it? 

"Yusuke- Fox, you didn't force me into anything! Nothing actually happened, so there's no need for this blame game! And even if I did give in, it would not have been your fault. Like I said, you weren't totally yourself then, you know? I know you don't act like that normally, so having sex with you anyway despite knowing that you are under the effect of something would have been a shitty thing to do. I couldn't take advantage of ya like that, ever!" Ryuji sighs and shakes his head at the floor. "But we didn't go that far, so all this worry is for nothing! Let's just relax and wait for the others." 

"Yes. We restrained ourselves successfully against the effects of the aphrodisiac." Yusuke still looks troubled, and he hesitates before speaking again too softly for Ryuji to hear. 

"Huh? Sorry, I didn't hear that." He leans forward to be more engaged in the conversation. Yusuke glances up at him briefly before looking to the floor again. 

"Ah, forget about that. It was nothing." He says in a way that makes it look like it was totally something. 

"No come on, don't keep things bottled up! If you got something to say, say it." Ryuji leans closer to hear better as Yusuke clears his throat. 

"Okay, ah." He starts, quietly. If Ryuji were not sitting so close, it would have been practically impossible to hear. But as he is sitting very close, he hears every word. "Even still I cannot help but wish we did go that far. Wish that- that even now you would take advantage of me." 

"What?!" Ryuji recoils as Yusuke flinches in on himself. "I thought that was all over, are you telling me you're _still_ horny?!" Yusuke looks up with a distasteful frown. 

"I wouldn't put it like that, but in essence, yes. I seem to have lingering effects of the poison. Thankfully not as strong, but intensely distracting nonetheless." He shakes his head, looking almost devastated. "I can resist them, but I ask you to stay away from me until these urges are gone." 

Ryuji swallows and nods, scooting his chair backwards away from the couch. Yusuke gives an appreciative nod and then continues to look at the floor. At this point, Ryuji's starting to wonder if there's something on the floor and he just isn't seeing it, or if Yusuke was just zoning out. It's most likely the latter, but Ryuji still subtly looks around the floor from his seat just in case. Predictably, the floor is as boring as usual. Sighing, Ryuji leans back in his chair and looks around the room for something, anything, else to do. He finds nothing, but when he looks at Yusuke again, it nearly scares the shit out of him to find the artist looking right back at him. Ryuji only jolts a little bit. Yusuke's eyes glance away before returning to meet Ryuji's. He's about to ask what Yusuke wants when the artist takes a deep breath and then starts talking. 

"This may seem a strange request, considering the circumstances, and by no means are you required to accept, but I would like to extend the offer to you to spend more time with me outside of the Metaverse. I fully understand why you would decline, and I accept that, I just wanted to ask if you were willing. It's strange, but after this, I feel more comfortable with you. I fear we have not spoken much, the two of us, and I would like to remedy that. If you wouldn't mind?" The request certainly isn't what Ryuji expected, but it is something he hoped for himself. Also, he too feels more comfortable with Yusuke now despite how weird this interaction has been. 

"Yeah, sure man, any time. I get what you're sayin', too. I guess after this whole, uh, thing, it's hard to top it." Ryuji responds. 

"Precisely. We've already reached the peak of uncomfortable situations, so any other discomfort would pale in comparison." 

"Right." Ryuji nods, though to be honest, he's not entirely sure what Yusuke just said. The words just didn't sink into his head, but it sounded like it was something he can agree with. "Hey, how about we go out for a beef bowl sometime?" Ryuji offers the first thing that comes to mind. Yusuke quickly perks up at that, sitting up straight with wide eyes. If Ryuji had known an offer of beef bowls would brighten the guy up so much, he have taken him out long ago. 

"That would be wonderful! When would you like to go? I should start to save up for it ahead of time." Yusuke sits far forward on the edge of the couch like an excited dog. Ryuji thinks he can even see his tail moving from behind him, but isn't that just a clip on his belt? 

"Hey, don't worry about it, I can cover you for the cost, just worry about train fare." Ryuji flaps his hand dismissively. 

"No, I couldn't ask that if you." Yusuke shakes his head vehemently. It makes Ryuji laugh at how serious he looks about this. 

"Dude, I'm offering! Just accept it." 

"Well," Yusuke seems to consider it for a brief moment before sitting back and nodding. "If that is what you want, then who am I to stop you." 

Ryuji has to laugh even more at how the artist acts all calm about it, but he clearly is very happy about the situation. That tail Ryuji thought was an accessory is now smacking the seat like Yusuke is a happy puppy. The mood in the room has shifted entirely from awkward silence into a comfortable, easy air where they can sit in good spirits until the other Thieves come back. 

When the other Thieves _do_ come back, Ryuji is glad to hear they're going home. Yusuke looks similarly relieved. On the way out, Ryuji swears he can see Joker keep giving the two of them weird looks. 

By the time everyone starts splitting off, Ryuji finds himself at Akira's side while the girls and Morgana question Yusuke about his wellbeing. 

"Sooo," Akira starts in a tone that makes Ryuji know he won't like the question. "How'd it go?" 

"How did what go?" Ryuji asks, pretending to ignore Akira's smarmy grin. 

"You know, with Yusuke. Did anything... happen?" Ryuji can see that Akira is clearly trying to fluster him, but after today, Ryuji feels a bit more confident in his ability to ignore that kind of pestering. 

"I think," Ryuji starts, "that it's between me and Yusuke." He finishes with a confident smirk and eye contact with Akira. It's all too satisfying when Akira is the one to look a bit flustered instead. 

After reassuring the girls repeatedly that everything is fine now and that if anything like that happens again, they know what to do, the team splits up to head home. Ryuji waves goodbye to Yusuke and watches him leave for a moment. It's weird, but he's thinking maybe this whole experience wasn't terrible after all. When Yusuke glances back at him over his shoulder and gives another shy little wave, Ryuji concludes that today was definitely a good day. A weird, unexpected, unforgettable, mentally draining, good day.

**Author's Note:**

> Nothing brings people together better than wildly uncomfortable situations!  
> Actually, I don't think that's true.  
> I'll spare you the self hate rant and jump straight to begging for praise, so  
> If you liked it leave a kudos and a comment, I love every comment, even critical or downright mean ones sometimes. I thrive on the attention of faceless strangers online thanks.


End file.
